Report: DePaul to fire coach Jerry Wainwright today

During the preseason, Jerry Wainwright joked willingly about his tenuous job status.

But after he'd toss out his one-liners, he'd throw out his lifeline to DePaul basketball fans.

"This may not be the best time to be Jerry Wainwright, but it's a heck of a time to be the coach at DePaul," the fifth-year coach said in November. "We have an opportunity to be one of the better stories of the year."

With this year's story turning into the same refrain as last year's tale - not to mention the one the year before that - athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto has elected to truncate its ending.

Late Sunday, the school called a news conference for 11 a.m. today that will feature Ponsetto and Wainwright.

According to ESPN.com, Ponsetto initiated a coaching change for just the fifth time in the program's last 68 years.

Tracy Webster, the former Illinois and Kentucky assistant coach who joined Wainwright's staff last spring, is the logical choice to serve as interim coach when DePaul hosts Providence on Thursday.

The Blue Demons are 7-8 this year and 59-80 since Wainwright, 62, took over in April 2005.

Moreover, DePaul has gone 27-51 since reaching the NIT quarterfinals in 2007. Recent losses include a home shocker against American University (3-13) and a road defeat to Florida Gulf Coast (5-9).

In addition, DePaul's home attendance has slipped to a level that's unhealthy for a Big East team.

While the Blue Demons have reported an average of 7,444 per game at Allstate Arena, the actual number of people in the seats might be half that.

Wainwright was booed when introduced prior to DePaul's most recent home game - a 67-50 loss to Georgetown on Jan. 3 - and Ponsetto looked grim as she watched the proceedings unfold.

Wainwright, who's on crutches after fracturing his tibia and tearing a knee ligament on Wednesday at Villanova, insisted his team made progress this season.

Even as it became increasingly clear (even to Wainwright) that his tenure wouldn't extend beyond this season, he remained determined to coach the same way he has done since he began almost 40 years ago.

When asked what he'd change if told the end of his career was near, Wainwright offered a succinct response.

"Nothing."